Asia Markets to Watch 2025: Thailand

In this report series, we spotlight key APAC markets that offer growth potential for brands and retailers. First up is Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which has a sophisticated mall culture and a burgeoning entertainment industry

Take mega-mall culture to the next level

Thailand has a sophisticated mall culture, so offer retail-tainment alongside thoughtful spaces and services that offer rest and relaxation.

Follow the tourists

Right-size and right-place your offerings to make the most of Thailand’s tourism recovery. Tourism, which accounts for about 18% of Thailand’s GDP, is expected to be back full-steam by 2025.

Anticipate entertainment spillovers

Support Thai entertainment exports and align yourself with this emerging soft culture powerhouse, which is contributing to the rise of new cultural contraflows.

Build an omni-forward offering

Create a sense of trust and reliability online and drive new growth with unified commerce capabilities for an omni-forward shopper journey.

Executive summary

Beyond retail experiences underpinned by entertainment, hospitality and unified commerce capabilities will help brands and retailers win in Thailand come 2025.

https://www.wgsn.com/insight/article/666809a77d9f8f628cb445a2

The trend of sustainable materials innovation in 2024

Key strategies

• Innovation of bio-based materials: Bio-based materials are transformed from biomass resources (such as plants, animals and microorganisms) and have the characteristics of renewable, degradable and low carbon footprint. In the future, for sustainable materials, new biomaterials and intelligent manufacturing technologies will gradually go to the masses and become mainstream applications.

• Single material conducive to recycling: Products made of a single material can not only improve recycling efficiency and reduce recycling costs, but also help to achieve harmless design. In the future, the innovation of coatings, materials and formulas will make the product leave no traces after use, from design to disappearance, and realize a closed loop of material recycling.

• Waste material reuse: regard waste materials as a new resource, recycle materials from waste food, waste clothing, waste buildings or industrial waste, while reducing the demand for new raw materials, stimulate cross-border design innovative thinking, and explore new uses of recycled materials in various fields.

• Material aesthetic diversification: natural materials, recycled materials and biosynthetic materials have native textures, unique textures and irregularities due to the diversity of their origins. In the future, the aesthetics of materials will welcome the trend of diversification, embracing the original and unmodified side of materials, rather than over-processing or decorating.

Location and retail mix remains a key consideration for mall developers globally, but these strategies are no longer enough to guarantee success.

In Asia's highly mall-centric culture, successful shopping centres are future proofing themselves by embedding into local communities. By catering to the people who live and work nearby with accessible public spaces, stores, restaurants and experiences, the malls of the future are community builders – a direct challenge to the online experience.

Asia's successful malls are those that respond dynamically to changing consumer mindsets around global issues such as sustainability, flexible co-working hubs, green open spaces and even on-trend gaming pods.

Such developments highlight the need for cities across the region to create large-scale destinations that focus as much on community building and playful experiences (shopper-tainment) as the path-to-purchase.

Historically, celebrities have exerted their influence through traditional media, but they now also engage with digital platforms. They lend themselves to a wide range of endorsements because of their broad and established appeal, but people may also feel that celebrities are too far removed from real life and less authentic because the lives they show are orchestrated by the media and PR people

Key Opinion Leader (KOL)

Compared to celebrities, KOLs tend to be more approachable and relatable, as many have become famous by building their influence through social media platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu or Douban. They usually specialise in specific niches or industries, catering to their target audience by providing authenticity and a personal connection.

Key Opinion Consumer (KOC)

Unlike KOLs who actively portray an online presence, KOCs are everyday consumers who naturally gain fan attention based on their real-life experiences with a product or service. They often share testimonials and reviews on social media platforms and other forums, and their opinions are highly trusted within specific communities.

Cultural Opinion Leaders (COL)

A COL is an individual - usually an artist, athlete, designer, musician or chef - who shapes trends and opinions within a specific cultural or social context. They have a particular influence in the cultural sphere and play a crucial role in shaping public perception.

Virtual Netroots

Virtual web celebrities are fictional characters brought to life by technology, including generative AI. These digital people often have unique personalities, styles and narratives, allowing brands to shape their images and control messaging with greater precision. Their ability to seamlessly switch between industries and campaigns makes them a versatile and cost-effective marketing tool.

m

2 KOL influence the purchasing power

3 VIP& VIC(Consumer loyalty

4 Gender-inclusive design

5 AI with design

6 package

7 Sustainable Materials

https://www.wgsn.com/insight/article/66c2cc27566e5f7b89aa5a7e?lang=en

-beauty seclection?

-clothing?

-Econimic?

-lifestyle?

China's resale market, particularly for luxury goods, is experiencing significant growth and is expected to reach $32bn by 2025, fuelled by changing consumer attitudes and a shift towards more conscious consumption.

China's investment in sustainable materials and manufacturing capabilities gives it the potential to become a leader in sustainability, outpacing other regions in the development and expansion of eco-friendly innovations in the fashion industry.